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I need to give my beautiful new 981 BS her first wash. I'm just wondering how you guys go about washing the soft top? Does normal car wash affect it at all? Is it OK to direct a hose jet straight at it?

In truth, my soft top isn't even dirty as I keep the car garaged with a blanket over it, but it's a question that just cropped up in my mind as I got the cleaning kit out.

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I do not use soap on my soft top.... I simply hose it off really well when washing the rest of the car. I used a product called raggtopp to clean and protect it, but this is a tedious process to apply. It says it is safe for overspray on painted surfaces, but I use thin plastic drop cloths and masking tape to cover all the windows and painted surfaces of the car when I apply it, so it takes a while. But it is a great product and works great. Makes the water bead on the soft top like a fresh coat of wax on your paint. Also leave a nice deep black matte finish to the top once dry. My car is not a daily driver and does not get parked out in the sun for long periods of time. I did raggtopp a couple years ago (summer 2011) and have yet to need to reapply... But probably next year. So it will have lasted 3 years for my amount of use.

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I do not use soap on my soft top.... I simply hose it off really well when washing the rest of the car. I used a product called raggtopp to clean and protect it, but this is a tedious process to apply. It says it is safe for overspray on painted surfaces, but I use thin plastic drop cloths and masking tape to cover all the windows and painted surfaces of the car when I apply it, so it takes a while. But it is a great product and works great. Makes the water bead on the soft top like a fresh coat of wax on your paint. Also leave a nice deep black matte finish to the top once dry. My car is not a daily driver and does not get parked out in the sun for long periods of time. I did raggtopp a couple years ago (summer 2011) and have yet to need to reapply... But probably next year. So it will have lasted 3 years for my amount of use.

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After washing canvas tops with Zymöl or P21 car wash soap, I've been applying RaggTopp protectant about 3 times per year for the past 15 years (Z3, Z4, 128i cabrio and 981 Boxster) and the tops have all looked like new.

As the overspray is easily wiped off surrounding surfaces, each application takes less than 5 minutes.

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I use their Vinyl/Fabric Cleaner twice a month, and their fabric protectant every three months or so, or whenever I notice the water is beading less.

Note: My Porsche dealer did not apply protectant evenly to the entire top. I found this out the first time I washed the car and noticed large areas where the water did not bead. Poor quality work from my dealer yet again...

I avoid getting car wash soap on my top at all costs. Depending on the type of soap, it will seep into the fabric and sud every time it gets wet.

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I’ll use a glancing flood on the top and lightly use a toothbrush to remove tree and bird droppings. To get a good saturation of the protectant, the spray bottle got tiring so I pour it into a bowl and brush it on…and no overspray to deal with. I use 303 and any drips come off with WD40.

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+1 on Raggtop cleaner and protectant. I also use a very soft brush with the cleaner to loosen up embedded dirt and remove spots. after four years of use have never had a problem with overspray damaging anything as it does wipe off easily.

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303 Fabric protector after washed and scrubbed with no soap warm water 303 Convertible Top cleaner, and rinsed.

I brush the 303 Protector onto the convertible top. Let dry 30 minutes and water will bead up and run off. It's a great product, and suggest brushing on rather than spraying. Don't use a horse hair brush as the bristles can come out of the brush and stick into the top.

Great product 303 Fabric Protector. I use it on my Jaguar XKR soft top.

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I use Raggtopp as well, but the horse hair brush that came with the kit was no good. The bristles kept falling off. I'm still in search of a good brush before I use the products again.

I daily drive my Boxster, so I inspect the top when I get home and hose it if necessary. My nozzle has a setting called "flat" that applies a pressure I'm comfortable with. After it dries, I can see that a lot of the debris and small droppings have been removed.

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New convertible owner here-911S Cab-triple black. I have absolutely zero knowledge or experience in this area. I can tell you a few things NOT to do already. Don't get a microfiber towel or car soap within 100 feet of it. First mistake. I have a light colored spot on the top already which I do not think was there when I bought the car. No idea what it is or where it came from.

Is Raggtop a cleaner or a sealant or both? I am ordered some tomorrow after reading this thread. Many thanks for this useful information.

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Raggtopp can be purchased as a cleaner and sealer combo. The cleaner is in a regular pump spray bottle and is applied wet to the top and worked in with some sort of bristle brush (not included) and hosed off. Make sure you are using a brush that is not too hard, but at the same time will not leave bristles all over your top. If it does, you will need to pick them all out or use a lint roller to get them prior to using the sealer.

Then the sealer is applies in a few coats with a 30 minute dry time between. Once complete, the top will have a dark matte uniform finish that looks great. Water will bead for at least a few months to a few years depending on use and sun exposure. Do not wash with soap, simply hose down any dirt off the top after application. When water stops beading, it is time to repeat the process.

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Raggtopp can be purchased as a cleaner and sealer combo. The cleaner is in a regular pump spray bottle and is applied wet to the top and worked in with some sort of bristle brush (not included) and hosed off. Make sure you are using a brush that is not too hard, but at the same time will not leave bristles all over your top. If it does, you will need to pick them all out or use a lint roller to get them prior to using the sealer.

Then the sealer is applies in a few coats with a 30 minute dry time between. Once complete, the top will have a dark matte uniform finish that looks great. Water will bead for at least a few months to a few years depending on use and sun exposure. Do not wash with soap, simply hose down any dirt off the top after application. When water stops beading, it is time to repeat the process.

Any recommended brush? I'm about to wash my car for the first time, on amazon.com and they have the whole Raggtopp package including the horsehair brush which everyone said is horrible. I'm not going to be able to get in on time so my first wash is just going to be a hose rinse for the fabric top. So how often do you guys use the raggtopp cleaner and protectant? My research suggest twice a year but some of you guys are doing it every 3 months? Is that really necessary.

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I have read many of the posts regarding leather treatments. A few talk about the leather smell after treatment.
I recently purchased a used 981 which still has the Porsche leather smell. I do not want to alter/lose that with a cleaning or conditioning agent.
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